Potions
by Indigo44
Summary: A potion festival is taking place and Aang is trying to find something to help him win Toph's heart. Taang.
1. Love Potion

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender 

Potions  
By Indigo44

* * *

Chapter 1  
Love Potion

"Aang, hey, wake up."

The Avatar slowly opened his sleepy eyes and waited forthem to adjust before seeing who had woken him. Sokka was kneeling over him with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, guess what. There's a festival being set up down there in the village," Sokka told him. "and guess what's being sold." Sokka was shaking with excitement. Without waiting for Aang to respond he exclaimed in an ecstatic, soft whisper, "Potions!"

"Wha?" Aang asked, still groggy. "Sokka you said that you don't believe in magic or witchcraft."

"Potions aren't magic!" Sokka scoffed. "They're the real deal. Do you know how many times potions have worked on me?"

Aang raised an eyebrow. "When has a potion been used on you?"

"Katara used to put stuff in my drinks when we were younger; they made me do a whole bunch of weird stuff." Sokka explained. "C'mon Aang, let's go now before the girls wake up. I want to get back at Katara for all the times she's poisoned me."

Aang rolled over and whined, "I'm sleeping." He heard Sokka crouch down by his ear.

"I bet there're things down there for Toph." Sokka teased. Aang's eyes opened a bit and considered the possibility.

"How do you figure that?" Aang asked.

"There's gotta be some love potions down there, and maybe some other stuff too." Sokka said.

"Well…" Aang thought for a second. "OK, let's go and see." Aang got up from his sleeping pad, stretched, and followed Sokka down to the village.

* * *

The sun was just coming above the horizon when the two boys reached the village. Some vendors were setting up there stands. Potions were being set out to advertise what was available. Various bottles of colors and sizes reflected the new day's sun light off the glass. 

Aang's eyes were drawn to a vendor's stand not too far away, being run by an elderly man. The sign above the man's head read, "Love and Romance". Aang wanted to go over, but he was a little embarrassed to do so with Sokka, another guy. This was a private thing to do.

To his luck Aang heard Sokka say something to him about going to another stand and saw him walk away. Perfect timing.

The Avatar made his way over to the old man and asked him, "Hi there, uh, do you have love potions?" It was sort of a stupid question, seeing as the sign explained what was being sold, but Aang wanted to be polite.

The man fixed his eyes on Aang and squinted, trying to see him better. His expression was kind and Aang immediately felt comfortable in his presence. The man gave him a smile and nodded.

"You're out quite early." The man stated. Aang nodded. "Yes, I have a fine assortment of potions that will cause anyone to fall in love with the first person they set eyes upon. The prices are a bit expensive but Ibelieve they are reasonable. Five silver coins for a bottle."

"Five silver coins?" Aang asked taken aback. "How do I know that these things actually work?"

The man chuckled. "My boy, the festival lasts all day. If my potion does not work for you, you may return here within that time and I will give you a full refund."

Aang smiled at him. "You're pretty confident that things work huh?"

"They have never failed." He said simply.

Aang paid the man five silver coins and received a red bottle of potion. He was told that he needed to get the girl in question to drink the potion, then the potion would take effect.

Aang found Sokkaat a nearby stand, bartering prices with a woman. He quickly told the water tribewarrior that he was heading back to camp and he would see him in a bit.

* * *

He sprinted back to the camp, already planning on how he was going to get Toph to drink the potion. 

When he arrived at camp he stopped running and caught his breath. He walked toward his pack and hid the potion safely inside.

He heard a rustling behind him. Aang stood up and whirled around. His heart stopped when he saw Toph standing there with her arms crossed.

"Where have you been? And where's Sokka?" Toph asked in hercommanding voice.

"I…we…well there was a, uh…" Aang stumbled on his words. Toph began to tap her foot up and down. "How did you know we left?"

Toph rolled her eyes. "I _felt_ you guys leaving. I'm a light sleeper you know." Toph explained somewhat impatiently. "So, _where were you_?" She asked again.

"Sokka and I woke up early and he wanted to go and take a walk, we headed down toward the village nearby and looked around. He decided to stay for a while and I came back." Aang made up his story. It wasn't _completely_ false, but not entirely true.

"I can tell you're lying." Toph scowled at him. Aang thought fast. He crouched down by his pack again and pulled out the potion.

"Well maybe you'll like this, I got something for you." Aang approached her and handed her the bottle.

"What it is?" She asked, running her hands over the glass. Aang saw her expression soften a bit. Maybe she liked that he got her a gift.

"Drink it." Aang said simply. Normally Toph wouldn't have drunkan unknown substancethat someone gave her, but she was curious and she trusted Aang. She pulled out the stopper and brought the bottle to her lips.

It wasn't a large bottle so she could easily consume all of it fairly quickly. When she took the bottle away for her lips Aang noticed a small bit of liquid clinging to them. Aang had to resist the urge to go up and kiss her right then. He had to wait for the potion to work.

Toph smacked her lips and after a second she spoke. "That was pretty good. OK, you're forgiven." She tossed the bottle back to Aang and started to walk away.

Aang was dumfounded. "Wait, wait." Toph stopped as he rushed over to her. He turned her around so that she was looking at him. Only then did he remember something.

"_Potions that will cause anyone to fall in love with the first person they set eyes upon."_

Aang heard the old man's voice in his head.The first person they set eyes upon. Toph was blind. It wouldn't work for her because she couldn't "set eyes upon" him.

Aang let out a saddened sigh. Toph cocked her head to one side looking at him curiously.

"What?" She asked him.

"Nothing," Aang responded. He felt cold inside. "Nothing."

End of Chapter 1


	2. Lucky Potion

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Chapter 2  
Lucky Potion

Aang was sprinting back down toward the village as fast as an airbender could run. It wasn't even an hour after the love potion didn't work and Aang was angrywith himself for not thinking of the possibility of Toph's eyes being a problem. His first reaction was to run to the old man who had sold him the potion and demand his refund, but he knew that it wasn't the man's fault. How could he know that Aang's intended love potion drinker was blind? So Aang was running back down to the festival, hoping he would find something else for Toph.

After a mere minute's run he stopped at the opening gate to the town. The festival was already packed with people. Aang knew it would be tougher to find a new potion with all these people around but he went in anyway, more adamant than ever.

* * *

After several minutes browsing he found a tall, thin woman standing behind a very small table. The table was covered with little black bottles. Aang noticed the bottles didn't look like they were made of glass. He examined one closely and found it to be made of wood. He looked up at the woman who he found had been watching him examine one of her bottles with one of her hands on a dagger attached to her belt. Her eyes were narrowed into a dangerous glare. Aang was reminded of a wild animal protecting her cubs. 

"Um, excuse me." Aang said, unsureabout how to act. "What sort of potions are these?"

The woman blinked. Her hand remained on her weapon as she asked, "You do not know?" Aang shook his head. She sighed in relief and took her hand off the dagger. "My apologies. Many people try to steal these potions, they are more valuable than many of the potions in the festival, I am sure." She cleared her throat and smiled at him. "Welcome to Helena's Lucky Potions. You were lucky to find me!" She giggled, it was a sound that completely contradicted the impression she had given him a second ago.

"Lucky potions?" Aang asked."Potions that make you lucky?"

"Precisely." Helena said. "You will be able to accomplish almost anything during the amount of time that the potion runs through you're bloodstream."

"And how long is that?"

"Only a few minutes." The woman answered, beaming down at him.

"Why only that long? You could put these into bigger bottles and the potion would be able to last longer, couldn't it?" Aang asked.

"Yes, but too much of a good thing can be poisonous. The potion comes from a tree, not found in these areas, and it is very difficult to harvest because ofthe tree's poisonous spore that can kill someone within a day."

"How much?" Aang asked anxiously.

* * *

Aang arrived back at camp feeling victorious. A lucky potion. He could do anything he wanted. He knew just the thing he wanted too. 

He found Toph digging a hole with earthbending. Every motion she made caused the hole to grow bigger and deeper. Aang was several yards away from her when he swallowed the potion in one gulp. He felt its power work immediately, as if he could do anything he wanted.

He was about to approach Toph when he stopped himself. What was he going to do? What was he going to say? He hadn't thought about that. Aang cursed himself for not thinking ahead. He knew that if he didn't think of something fast he would run out of time and the potion would have been wasted.

He shook his head in irritation and marched toward Toph. He called out her name in order to get her attention.

Toph was so focused on her earthbending that she hadn't noticed him approach. She was in the middle of a form when she heard her name being called. This surprised herso muchthat she tripped over herself and began to fall over the edge and into the hole she had been digging.

The lucky potion took over Aang's body and he found himself shooting forward, grabbing Toph's hand and pulling her to him in a tight embrace and away from the hole.

Aang felt her breathing hard from the shock. He let go of her and she stepped back slightly. She punched him in the arm. "Don't scare me like that!" She shouted at him. Aang desperately tried to think of something to do. Tried to get the potion to work for him, but it was gone. He had used up his time and he had used his last bit of luck to save Toph from falling. At least she was safe. He let out a miserable sigh, just like before. Why was this so hard? If he kept going like this he would never be able to get close to Toph.

With that thought in his head he was surprised to find Toph's arms wrap around his waist in a hug. "Thanks" He heard her say. Then she let him go and walked away, leaving the hole behind her.

End of Chapter 2


	3. Mind Potion

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Chapter 3  
Mind Potion

"This is ridiculous." Aang thought to himself as he walked around the festival. He was searching, now close to being desperate, for a potion that _would_ work for him.

He had been there for three hours looking around. He had gone past every vendor twice and wound up with nothing. The sun was setting and people were packing up their merchandise to leave.

The Avatar hung his head in defeat. He was depressed as he walked out of the village. He didn't notice a man in a big jacket coming toward him, running on scuffing feet.

"Boy, hey boy." A mousey voice beckoned him. Aang stopped and turned around. "Hey…I've been watchin' you." The man came closer and Aang could see that he looked like a homeless person. "You have a lady friend don't y'?"

Aang was became defensive, "That's not you're business. Now be on your way." He turned around again and started to walk back to camp.

"I got somethin' to help." He called to Aang. "Ever wonder what she's thinkin'?" Aang stopped. He turned and saw that the man was smiling at him.

"You have something to help me know what she's thinking?" This was miracle! This may have been the best chance that he had at getting Toph to be with him.

The man pulled a cheap looking bottle from his jacket pocket and came closer. "Five copper pieces can get y' a bottle o' this." He wheezed as he spoke. "How 'bout it boy?"

* * *

Aang found the others crowded around the campfire eating. They looked up at him as he approached.

"You've been gone a lot today." Katara stated. She looked concerned.

"There's a festival down there in the village, I keep wanting to go back because it's, uh…" Aang tried to think of a believable description.

"Fun?" Sokka asked. He was the only one out of the group that knew that Aang was having troubles with his potions. He had been asked to cover for him if he needed help.

"Yeah, it's been fun." Aang said. He walked over to his pack and knelt down, pretending to get something out of it. He quickly pulled out the potion he bought and drank it.

This was his last shot. He couldn't find any other potion at the festival that could help him and he had run out of money by buying all of the previous ones. He wanted to be close to Toph and he didn't know what else to do.

He swished the liquid around in his mouth and swallowed. He stood up and faced Toph.

Everything was silent. There were no new sounds or voices to be heard. Aang shut his eyes and covered his face in his hands.

The potion had been a fake.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Out of Ideas

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Author's Note: I would like to apologize for the random mushing of two or more words in random places across the chapters. That was not intended and after consistantly attempting to fix it nothing seems to have worked. So, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. This is the final chapter of this fiction. I hope you enjoy it. 

Chapter 4  
Out of Ideas

The sun had long since risen and the Avatar remained on his bed roll with his eyes closed. He refused to start the day. The day previous had been so terrible, so full of failure, he didn't want to risk another.

He had heard Katara and Sokka go down to the village to buy some supplies for when they were going to depart. He hadn't heard Toph's movements at. Although he was curious he kept his eyes closed. He would stay like this all the way until they left if he had to. He felt so miserable and helpless that he didn't have the motivation to even go back to sleep.

He heard footsteps approaching him, but he didn't care. He didn't register in his head that the only person who would be coming toward him would be the one person he wanted the most. When he heard her voice he was so surprised that he opened his eyes slightly.

"Twinkle Toes." Toph said to him. "I know you're awake." She went down to her knees and looked down at him. There was a long pause."I know what you've been doing."

Aang's eyes shot open completely. How was that possible? It wasn't possible. Yet she said it. He didn't know whether to feel happy, embarrassed, or ashamed. She rested a hand on his shoulder. She then lay down next to him, propped up on one elbow.

She spoke softly, taking her time, pausing between sentences. "I followed you and Sokka down to the village yesterday when you left early in the morning. I heard you buy the love potion from the vendor. I thought it was for Katara. I thought it would be funny if I asked you where you had been, to see if you would tell me. I pretended to be angry with you. When you gave the potion to me…I didn't really know what to do. I couldn't tell you that I knew you'd bought it. Then when I drank it I had a feeling it may not work because I couldn't…well, I couldn't see you. I could tell that you were unhappy, but before I could tell you anything you had rushed down to the village to get something else. I didn't really know what you did then, so I asked Sokka earlier this morning before they left, you were asleep then. He was reluctant to tell me, but threatening him worked pretty well." She laughed. There was another pause. "Aang, you didn't have to do that for me." She put her mouth right by his ear and whisper, "You don't need a potion to win me, you already have." She nuzzled the side of his face and kissed his cheek.

Aang couldn't think, he couldn't speak, he could only do what he had been wanting to do for so long. He wrapped his arms around her waist and adjusted his body so as to put her on top of him. She smiled down at him and him back at her. Their faces were inches apart. They both knew what they wanted. They closed the gap between them and were united in their first kiss. She was sweeter than he had ever dared to hope and he was happier than he had ever felt. The texture of her lips was irresistable and it seemed to be his luckiest experience to have them pressed against his.

They broke apart and Toph rested her head on his chest. She let out a comfortable sigh. He stroked her hair as a thought came to him.

"Potions are stupid anyway." He said. He felt her laugh into his shirt.

The End

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Please read the Author's Note at the top if you have not already. Thank you. 


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